Press Release The energy transition will fail without good jobs in the skilled trades

Berlin/Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall is demanding that skilled trades companies provide better working conditions so as not to jeopardize the federal government’s climate goals. On the occasion of the “Heat Pump Summit” organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Construction, the union is calling for greater appreciation for workers so that skilled workers do not continue to leave the industry.
 

Better Working Conditions to Combat the Skilled Labor Shortage

“Two-thirds of young, well-trained workers in the skilled trades are leaving for other industries,” said Ralf Kutzner, executive board member of IG Metall. The electrical and plumbing, heating, and HVAC trades alone lose over 18,000 skilled workers from each graduating class of apprentices, with many moving to the manufacturing sector. “The skilled trades are proud to be the ‘nation’s trainers.’ However, it would be better to be trainers for the skilled trades,” said Kutzner.

IG Metall is therefore calling on companies to launch a massive retention and recruitment campaign for employees focused on the issue of good working conditions. This is a crucial prerequisite for achieving the goal of installing 500,000 heat pumps annually. “The skilled trades sector and its customers need a sufficient number of well-qualified skilled workers. And skilled workers need attractive working conditions,” Kutzner insisted. Employees expect collective bargaining agreements and, with them, fair provisions regarding working hours, pay, and continuing education. Instead, factors such as six-day workweeks, a lack of or inadequate retirement benefits, and long, unpaid commutes often deter skilled workers.
 

Heat Pump Initiative Requires Fully Trained Specialists

IG Metall firmly rejects calls from individual companies in the heating industry for a “quick-fix” training program to address the skilled worker shortage: “For qualified installations, we don’t need a cheap, slapdash solution, but rather an attractive, robust, and sustainable full-fledged vocational training program instead of deregulation. The installation of heat pumps, in particular, is very complex and requires not only vocational training but also practical experience and additional qualifications,” said Kutzner.
 

IG Metall expects the federal government to take a broader view of the heat pump initiative. Ralf Kutzner: “Beyond the skilled labor shortage, we need an active industrial policy for the production of heat pumps in Germany, as well as an expansion of combined heat and power generation.”